Patrick Brown’s 2.9% budget increase offers lavish 8.2% hike for salaries; & deep cuts to Brampton services and infrastructure

Municipal budgets are often a balance between the political desire to keep residents happy with small increases; and the responsibility to provide those same residents with the services and infrastructure they need.

Mayor Patrick Brown has just proposed a 2.9 percent increase, or $194 more than the average residential homeowner paid last year. The Region of Peel increase, when its budget is finalized, will be added to this amount for the total 2025 budget impact.

While spending on projects to benefit residents is being cut or delayed, the City’s largest expense—salaries, wages and benefits for staff—will see a significant rise, if Brown gets his way, going from a total of $533.94 million in 2024 to $576.93 million this year, an 8.2 percent increase, far outpacing what Brown is spending on the services and features residents need. And the vast majority of the staff costs that have ballooned under Brown are for highly-paid non-union employees, raising questions about what taxpayers are getting in return that actually enhances the city they live in.

The City’s financial blueprint for the year offers the bare minimum in services and infrastructure needs, and includes a range of cuts, postponed projects and questions about features Brampton desperately wants, but Brown simply doesn’t want to pay for because of his repeated political strategy to campaign as a fiscally conservative leader. 

The minimal increase comes despite the Interim Financial Master Plan’s (IFMP) recommendation for an approximately 3.4 percent tax hike this year to ensure adequate funds for basic services and critical city-building projects. While small investments are being made in key areas, including the downtown core and the Riverwalk, they are not nearly enough to cover the work that’s needed.

A list of items removed by Brown in order to achieve his minimal budget increase and offer more than 8 percent in hikes to salaries makes it clear residents are losing more than they are gaining. 

Mayor Patrick Brown has made significant cuts to the City’s 2025 spending plan, and has pushed off major investments to later years.

(The Pointer files)

He has pushed this populist strategy, admittedly aimed at making him a desirable political candidate for higher levels of government since arriving in Brampton in 2018 on a campaign promise to freeze the budget, which he did for three years. That came at the expense of significant services and initiatives pushed off to later years or cancelled altogether, including investments in transit, the downtown, critical infrastructure, public libraries and climate mitigation.

The total budget for 2025 stands at approximately $1.4 billion ($1,398,376,000): $1.03 billion in operating costs and $368.2 million in capital spending. Overall, this represents a 4.1 percent decrease from last year’s budget. This is mostly attributed to Brown slashing the 2025 capital program by 22.7 percent, removing $83.6 million worth of projects that were initially proposed to move forward in 2025.

The 8.2 percent increase Brown plans to spend on salaries for employees including the bloated staff complement that organizes his numerous events and constant media appearances to promote a politician who has twice tried to leave the city for higher government, has raised questions about the mayor’s priorities.

Data from Ontariosunshinelist.com based on the province’s annual public salary disclosure, show the dramatic rise in spending on salaries and benefits since Brown became mayor, driven by generous compensation increases for non-union members and a range of managers paid for by Brampton’s taxpayers. 

In 2017, the year before Brown became mayor, the total salary expenditure for all those on Brampton’s Sunshine List was $90 million; in 2023, the most recent year recorded, it was $168 million.

In 2017 the total number of Brampton staff on the Sunshine List, which includes public employees who make $100,000 or more, was 764; in 2023, after almost six years under Brown’s leadership, the number had swelled to 1,365, almost doubling in just over half a decade. 

Three years before Brown became mayor a special external financial review was conducted under Linda Jeffrey’s leadership and the City was advised that non-union salaries need to be kept in check, otherwise Brampton would suffer from an inability to pay for critical needs. Jeffrey demanded non-union salary increases be scaled back and fired the chief administrative officer in 2015 for failing to bring forward a budget at the time with a plan to rein in management salary costs.

“Managing the growth in operating expenses and especially in the City payroll is something that Council and City management will need to pay increasing attention to if they are to make any significant headway in improving annual operating results and replenishing City reserve levels,” the 2015 external review concluded. 

Brown has done the opposite, allowing high-end salaries to skyrocket, then cutting critical services and delaying badly needed infrastructure projects.

William Boyes, who had served as the fire chief under Brown, saw his salary go from $181,000 in 2018, the year Brown became mayor, to $255,000 in 2022, a 41 percent increase in four years. He earned $275,000 in salary and benefits in 2023, as a commissioner.

Dozens of managers since Brown became mayor, such as his hand-picked director of communications Jason Tamming, now enjoy five-figure benefits, much of it for their own taxpayer-funded vehicles. In 2023, his benefits cost local property owners $19,171 (Toronto’s director of communications received $1,283 in benefits the same year; Mississauga’s received $1,485) on top of Tamming’s salary of $197,561. His salary and benefits increased almost 20 percent in three years, to $216,732 in 2023. He was previously let go by Niagara Region; he behaved corruptly in the “Inside Job” CAO hiring scandal there. 

Denise McClure, a senior manager of economic development, made $167,000 in 2023, a 46 percent increase from the $114,000 she was paid two years before Brown became mayor.

While management staff including many hand-picked by Brown have enjoyed excessive taxpayer-funded salary increases, the mayor attacked unionized CUPE staff (who on average make far less than their non-union counterparts) in the fall when they went on strike while seeking basic cost of living increases (an agreement was reached shortly after).

Despite rapid growth in transit ridership, Patrick Brown has made steep cuts to the capital investment for the service.

(The Pointer files)

While salary costs have continued to climb unsustainably, key infrastructure needs were not allocated sufficient funding in Brown’s proposed 2025 budget.

The City has allocated $15 million for the Riverwalk flood mitigation project (which councillors in previous terms estimated will cost more than $300 million); $23.8 million for downtown revitalization (after estimates pegged the work which was cancelled by Brown at more than $70 million six years ago); along with $1 million allocated to Community Safety and Well-being initiatives.

"This budget contains significant strategic investments that will help push forward Brampton's prosperity, whether it's transit, recreation, roads, or any number of vital areas," Brown stated in a media briefing Monday.

The claim does not align with the proposed cuts to services, departments and initiatives that are seeing their budgets reduced, delayed or cut entirely. 

This list includes:

• Public Library: Capital funding for the Public Library system has been gutted, dropping from $1.74 million in 2024 to $850,000 in 2025. Collection development funding has been cut by more than half, from $1.54 million to just $700,000.
• Cultural Services: Funding for cultural services has been devastated, with public art investments eliminated entirely and performance arts initiatives cut to zero.
• Bridge Repairs: No funding has been allocated for bridge repairs in 2025, raising concerns about safety.
• Climate Initiatives: Critical programs for sustainability, such as stormwater management and retrofits (including pond restoration and LED streetlight replacements) have received no funding; $1 million cut from the Urban Forest Canopy Program.
• Transit: Significant cuts to transit funding have been proposed by Brown despite significant pressure to meet rapidly rising demand. Bus purchase allocations reduced from $89.7 million to $55.3 million (despite the need for at least half a billion dollars to transition the dirty diesel fleet to green vehicles—Brown has blatantly misled the public claiming Brampton’s transit fleet was the greenest in the country). Bus refurbishments have also been eliminated, from a projected need of $15.4 million in 2025 to zero in the actual budget presented by Brown, along with decreased funding for bus shelters and pads, which may further strain Brampton's already overburdened transit services.

The expansion of Peel Memorial has not been allocated any additional funding beyond the levy that was previously passed, which Brown refused to support, leaving approximately $46 million for City Hall’s share unfunded. 

The funding is still insufficient to meet the actual needs of these projects. 

The Downtown Reimagined Plan was cancelled by Brown, with no clear timeline or financial commitment to revive it. Bids were as high as $73 million in 2018 to do the work before Brown pulled the plug. Little progress has been made since to redevelop the struggling city centre, and critical work long overdue to replace water and sewer lines had to be launched by the Region of Peel without the City’s partnership, after Brown terminated its previously approved commitment to completely redefine downtown while the Region did its subsurface utility work.

Under strong mayor powers granted by the provincial government, Brown has taken control of the budget, preparing and presenting it without council involvement. Councillors will now be able to make suggestions and can eventually overrule the mayor on any item if two-thirds of the members vote against any of his particular proposals.

Some of his decisions will cripple certain services. 

The Brampton Library is currently facing significant capacity issues due to the city’s rapid population growth, particularly in the eastern areas. The library system is grappling with inflationary pressures on both electronic and physical materials, as well as the impending expiration of the lease for the temporary Chinguacousy branch location.

Brampton’s 2025 budget cuts much-needed spending for the city’s public library system.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer files)

"The drivers of our budget this year include the growing demand for physical space and ongoing capacity challenges," said Todd Kyle, Chief Executive Officer of Brampton Library, during a special council meeting on Budget 2025, held Tuesday, January 14. "We are also facing inflationary pressures affecting both electronic and physical library materials. Population growth is another key factor—around the Chinguacousy Library, we serve a population of 111,000 within a three-kilometer radius, expected to grow by 10 percent in the next five years. In the eastern part of Brampton, where we’re preparing to open the Clearville branch, we anticipate a 23 percent population increase from the current 40,000 residents within a similar radius over the same period. Additionally, our temporary lease at the Chinguacousy Park Ski Chalet for the Chinguacousy Branch is set to expire at the end of this year, although there is an option to extend it if necessary."

While Toronto’s library system was highlighted for expanded services in the city’s proposed 2025 budget, recognizing the needs of residents, particularly those who require community services more than others, Kyle described the challenges Brampton’s system is now facing.

More than half of its capital budget, $888,000, has been cut from the $1.74 million that had been projected last year for 2025. Funding for badly needed new furniture has been cut in half by Brown, under his proposal.

The library’s ability to effectively respond to the growing needs of the community has been challenged, Kyle said. 

The current governance under Mayor Brown has raised several red flags, reflecting a pattern of negligence towards pressing issues in the city since he took office. 

Brown’s 2025 budget eliminates bridge repairs, stormwater management retrofits that are needed and delays essential road and traffic infrastructure improvements, while salaries, wages and benefits have increased by 8.2 percent to $576.9 million, raising questions about spending priorities.

While Brown acknowledged the significant demand for more transit service his budget proposes to slash bus purchases from $89.7 million to $55.3 million while eliminating new funding for bus shelters and pads.

There is no mention in his budget of what the mayor is doing to bring a new university to the city, a promise he previously made; no mention of the world class cricket stadium he promised would be completed three years ago; no mention of any secured funding or City investment toward the estimated $2.8 billion for an LRT extension into the city centre; no details about how the remaining $45 million for Peel Memorial’s expansion will be funded; and no details of how a long list of other infrastructure needs and previous commitments such as the downtown innovation district and a new innovation centre will be funded by the City, despite Brown’s repeated claims of turning Brampton into a high tech corridor, a notion critics have questioned, especially after he cancelled tens of millions of dollars to redevelop the decaying downtown area where the innovation renaissance was promised six years ago. Instead, buildings are boarded up and businesses continue to close, in the country’s ninth largest city.

Meanwhile, questions continue to mount about Brown’s depletion of reserve funds and use of those funds for things that are not supposed to be covered by reserves. (The Pointer will be publishing detailed reporting about these issues.)

The Pointer reached out to several council members for comments but did not receive responses ahead of publication.

Email: [email protected]

At a time when vital public information is needed by everyone, The Pointer has taken down our paywall on all stories to ensure every resident of Brampton, Mississauga and Niagara has access to the facts. For those who are able, we encourage you to consider a subscription. This will help us report on important public interest issues the community needs to know about now more than ever. You can register for a 30-day free trial HERE. Thereafter, The Pointer will charge $10 a month and you can cancel any time right on the website. Thank you